PRESS
RELEASE 20 February 2003

Save
Dreamland Campaign and European Coaster Club Announce Special Event

The Save Dreamland Campaign announces a special
event for supporters of the campaign.

The campaign speaks on behalf of over 12,000 people
who want to save the Dreamland Pleasure Park, and its Grade II listed Scenic
Railway roller coaster.

The Save Dreamland Convention is to be held on
Easter Saturday 19th April 2003 at Margate’s historic Theatre
Royal, and is being organised in association with the European Coaster Club.
Hundreds of roller coaster enthusiasts from around the world are expected to
attend, as well as local people, some whose livelihoods depend upon tourism
trade and many who care for Margate’s heritage and its future.

Campaign leader, Nick Laister, says: “The event will be a celebration of Dreamland’s past, and will
include a public debate on the park’s future. We have been bowled over by the
level of support for this campaign, so we thought that a special event such as
this would further raise the profile of the campaign, and would allow us to
demonstrate just how important Dreamland is to the people of Margate and the
park’s many thousands of regular visitors.”

The Save Dreamland Convention starts at 1pm and
features a packed programme of events, which will include the following
highlights:

·A journey through the often
turbulent history of the park by Mick Tomlinson, Chairman of the Margate Events
Group.

·A talk by Richard Foster of
the European Coaster Club on why the Scenic Railway must be saved.

·A special screening of the
landmark 1953 short film, ‘O
Dreamland’

·A talk from campaign leader
Nick Laister on the Campaign’s aims and how supporters
can make a difference

·A debate/Q&A session on
how to take the campaign forward

Following
the show, which will finish at approximately 3pm, everyone will congregate
outside Dreamland for a photograph. This will be an opportunity for the media to
take photographs of, and interview, campaign supporters.

The
event is being organised by Local Campaign Coordinator, Sarah Vickery, who says,
“This is an opportunity for everyone who feels strongly about Dreamland’s
future to make their voice heard and send a clear message to the decision
makers. We can do this through the Save Dreamland Convention, and have some fun
in the process!”

Dreamland Leisure Ltd has confirmed that Dreamland
will be open on 19th April, and will remain open until 10pm, so there
will be an opportunity for everyone to take what could be a final ride on the
83-year-old Scenic Railway roller coaster.

Richard Foster, Chairman of the 1,500-strong
European Coaster Club, and Justin Garvanovic, the Club’s founder, made a joint
statement:
“The European Coaster Club has been fully committed to the Save Dreamland
Campaign from the word go. We’re delighted to be promoting and helping with
this event, and knowing the enthusiasm of European coaster fans, I am sure that
there will be a real buzz about the day.”

Tickets to the event are £2.50 and are available
by sending a cheque, payable to ‘Save Dreamland Campaign’, to the Save
Dreamland Campaign, The Shell Grotto, Grotto Hill, Margate, Kent CT9 2BU.
Tickets can also be purchased securely online by credit card from www.savedreamland.co.uk.
Seats are limited and are on a first-come-first-served basis.

The Campaign
has been launched to save the Dreamland Pleasure Park, Margate, home of the
UK’s oldest roller coaster, the 83-year-old listed Scenic Railway.
Dreamland’s owner proposes to replace the park with a supermarket, shops and
casino. The Campaign is led by planning expert Nick Laister, a leading
authority on the UK amusement park industry, planning consultant and editor of www.joylandbooks.com, the specialist amusement
park bookstore. The Campaign is now speaking on behalf of 13,000 people,
including local residents, businesses and organisations such as the Margate
Historical Society, Margate Civic Society, European Coaster Club, Roller Coaster
Club of Great Britain and SAVE Britain’s Heritage.

Over 120
wooden roller coasters, the centrepiece of most amusement parks in the 20th
Century, were built between 1885 and 1960. Only nine now survive.

Only two 'Scenic Railway' roller coasters now survive, and the Scenic Railway at
Dreamland is the only one surviving intact. The removal of this ride would
almost completely wipe out this important part of British amusement park
heritage.

The other surviving scenic railway is at the Pleasure Beach, Great Yarmouth, and
was built in 1932.

The Scenic Railway at Dreamland is the oldest surviving roller coaster in the
United Kingdom. Its age and rarity were major factors in support of its listing.
It is now a Grade II listed building, the only amusement park ride in Britain to
be given statutory listed status.

When a
structure is listed it is placed on a statutory list of buildings of 'special
architectural or historic interest' compiled by the Secretary of State for
Culture, Media and Sport under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation
Areas) Act 1990. Listing ensures that the architectural and historic interest of
a building is carefully considered before any alterations are agreed. There are
currently over 37,000 buildings and other structures protected by listing
status. For more information on listed buildings, visit the English Heritage
website on www.english-heritage.org.uk.

Nick Laister BA (Hons) DipTP MRTPI MIHT is a leading
authority on the UK theme park industry. He is a Chartered Town Planner and Technical
Director with the RPS Group plc, and specialises in planning for tourism and leisure. He
has been involved in a number of listed buildings and conservation cases, and has appeared
as expert witness at several public inquiries and hearings. He has written articles for a
number of newspapers and journals and has been invited to speak at conferences on the
subject of planning for tourism and leisure. He is regularly interviewed on
television and radio on the same subject. He is co-owner of Skelter Publishing
LLP and editor
of the web site www.joylandbooks.com. Click
here to email Nick Laister.

Sarah
Vickery owns and runs the Grade 1 listed Shell Grotto in Margate, a popular
tourist attraction with shop, museum and cafe attached. She is Vice-Chair of the
Isle of Thanet Tourism Association, Chair of the Thanet Contemporary Arts
Festival and a member of the Margate Events Group. She moved to Margate with her
family in 2001 to take over the Grotto which she has known and loved since
childhood. Before this Sarah was a journalist specialising in arts and travel,
writing for a range of magazines and newspapers and editing books. Click
here to email Sarah Vickery.

Richard
Foster is Chairman of the European Coaster Club, Europe’s premier roller
coaster club. He lives in the South East and first rode the Scenic Railway at
age 13.He speaks for 1500 coaster
fans and has a full time day-job as a management consultant in the rail industry

The website
of the European Coaster Club is www.coasterclub.org

Dreamland Pleasure Park is located at Belgrave Road, Margate. The telephone
number is 01843 227011.